The following few days saw me and Tobi fall into a new routine.

It started that Sunday, with us cycling to the location of the sinine, the plants that Martha had told us provided the active ingredient for the Ravim, since she'd also unwittingly given me enough information with which to find the district that they were grown in. Once we were in the general vicinity, we discovered that the rows of small leafy shrubs covered a considerable area and were actually quite difficult to miss, since they appeared to be the only obviously farmed plants in the region.

It seemed the location, which was presumably only known by a handful of people, was so obscure and remote, that over the years the Andekas had become somewhat lax in their protection of it. This enabled the two of us to covertly collect several of the sinine plants, which we pulled up by the roots, along with numerous soil samples.

Having successfully brought home our spoils, Tobi helped me to replant the little shrubs in some terracotta pots, which we then placed on the windowsill in my kitchen. Although the plants seemed hardy enough to grow through the winter months, I didn't want to risk them dying due to a cold snap.

With several of the sinine florae now within easy daily reach, I began to experiment so that I could gather information about them. I wasn't looking for anything specific – just anything that might prove useful in our quest to free the Katki from the Ravim.

In the meantime, Tobi and I ensured that whenever we needed to purchase food, we bought a few additional items that had a long shelf-life. On some weekdays, when I was working in the laboratory, Tobi would cycle to Rannik with the extra supplies. Once there, he'd meet with Elizabeth, and help her take provisions to the fort.

It wasn't long before the first flakes of snow began to fall on the higher and coastal ground, and only a few days later when the rocky path that led up to the fort became impassable. I alleviated some of my concerns about the inhabitants of the ruined castle by reminding myself that they'd managed to survive every winter for the last twenty or so years and were probably well versed in making it work.

Seren's twelve-week baby scan fell in the mid-winter, but thankfully the season was relatively mild and there was not enough snow and ice inland to postpone it. Good to her word, after finding out her baby was healthy, my pregnant friend managed to obtain a water sample from the Kinnisvara, which gave me additional experiments to focus on.

Tobi took over most of the household chores to give me more time to conduct the tests. He was keen to participate in aiding the situation, and since he wasn't a scientist, he offered to contribute by taking away tasks that would otherwise take up my time. The irony that he was now doing exactly what the Andekas had primed him to do was not lost on me, although at least this way it was by choice.

Testing the water sample in the way Dr Stone had suggested revealed, as we suspected, that there was indeed a difference between the water that those living at the Kinnisvara were drinking and the water being received by civilians. Although the main difference seemed to be caused by a specific type of molecule, it wasn't one I was familiar with, and it soon became clear I'd need help interpreting the data I'd collected. Since the only person I could realistically go to was Dr Stone, I knew it would mean waiting for the coastal snow to melt, and in the meantime, I continued my work collecting data about the sinine plants.

The colder conditions also gave me and Tobi an opportunity to continue getting more familiar with each other as we snuggled up close on the cold winter nights. During daylight hours he'd become increasingly proficient at making people believe he was under the influence of the Ravim, and continued to deceive any visitors, including my parents. Tiger, of course, persistently tried to distract him, but the Katki didn't waver, even if it cost me a couple of ornaments.

As winter progressed, I found myself falling more deeply for him, and the feelings seemed to be reciprocated as our relationship continued to grow both emotionally and physically. His caring nature was evident, not just in the daily affection he showed towards both me and Tiger, but also in conversations we had around those living as outcasts at the fort.

Tobi also developed a fascination with the bump created by Seren's unborn child as it became progressively more visible. Having not previously been educated in how children were created, the result was that he sketched countless pictures of my best friend's pregnancy, much to her and Peter's delight.

Meanwhile, my experiments with the sinine shrubs presented an interesting revelation. I discovered that this type of plant preferred slightly acidic soil and was sensitive to changes in pH levels. Presumably this was one reason why the shrub had been farmed so far inland. Not only was the environment more sheltered and temperate all year round, but it seemed the acidity of the regional soil best supported the sinine's growth.

By running various tests, I concluded that by adding a potent home-made alkaline solution to the soil, using chalk or limestone as its base, over the course of around one month, would kill the plants without harming the environment. If I could produce enough of it, I could put an end to (or at least severely damage) the Ravim supplies for the Andekas.

I sighed inwardly when I realised I knew of only one area which was abundant enough in chalk and limestone to obtain the quantities we'd need. The cliffs of Rannik were a substantial trip at the best of times, let alone if there were significant amounts of rock involved. But it felt to me as though there were too few of us to overcome the Andekas and their supporters by force, and I knew the Katki were never going to be free while the governing family controlled the Ravim supply, leaving us with limited options.

And so, when early spring thawed the ice and snow of the winter, and Tobi was able to resume taking supplies to Rannik, he added an important modification to his routine. After taking discarded packaging and boxes down from the fort to Elizabeth's house for her to dispose of safely, Tobi would then take a small detour to collect chalk and limestone from the base of the cliffs of Rannik, bringing home as much as he could safely carry.

It wasn't long before Elizabeth learned what we were doing, and in an effort to help, collected the white rocks we needed so that Tobi could return straight home from her house without having to gather them himself. The redhead would occasionally manage to accrue enough that it was worth her cycling back to my house with Tobi, loading up with supplies I'd purchased for the fort for her return journey.

Once in my possession, I could grind the stones into a fine powder. I could then dissolve this in an appropriate solvent to make the powerful concoction that would raise the pH level of the soil, ready to be distributed onto the sinine fields. The liquid would be easy to spread and perfect for the plants to absorb naturally, but difficult to remove. And although I knew the effects could be countered with an acidic equivalent, such a remedy would take time. I was banking on the idea that by the time the Andekas worked out how their Ravim source was being poisoned, it would be too late to save it.

Still, I knew I'd need to create a lot more of the solution before it made sense to start dispensing it over the sinine fields.

In the meantime, with the route to Rannik now traversable, Tobi and I were able to take the water samples and the results of the tests I'd conducted to Dr Stone, who greeted us warmly upon our arrival. After welcoming us inside his cottage and fetching us a hot drink each, he analysed the findings for himself.

"As I suspected," the older man nodded as he studied the structure of the elusive molecule that I'd found in the civilian water supply. "I believe this is some form of medroxyprogesterone acetate," he stated as he looked back up at us. "A type of synthetic progesterone which is water soluble."

"Progesterone?" I asked, slightly bewildered. "Isn't that a hormone produced by women?"

"Indeed," he confirmed. "It's actually naturally produced by both genders, but women tend to naturally produce higher amounts of it that men. The quantity that women produce also increases significantly during pregnancy. But, if women receive additional progesterone, or a synthetic form of it, artificially in high enough doses, it will stop them getting pregnant. Before the Great War, I believe the technique was used widely as a form of birth control."

"Birth control?" I repeated, confused. "Why would anyone have ever tried to not get pregnant? Children are highly sought after."

"Back then, the world was a different place," Dr Stone reminded me. "The planet was overpopulated, and resources were scarce."

My brain ticked over what he was telling us.

"But now ... now the Andekas are using this 'birth control' by adding it to the water supply to prevent anyone living outside the Kinnisvara from getting pregnant, so that they can reward them with children," I concluded, feeling anger rising as I spoke. "Which explains why the Andekas never eat or drink outside their home."

"It certainly appears that way," our host confirmed. "The only way to get pregnant is for women to drink the water at the Kinnisvara, or at least to not drink the water which is consumed by the general population."

"Which makes the Andekas appear true to their name," I concluded. "It makes them look as though they're somehow 'gifted.'"

"And presumably helps them ensure that no Katki are born without their knowledge," Dr Stone added.

I sighed as I processed what the governing family were doing behind the scenes. They weren't bestowing gifts on the worthy as they had us all believing. They were covertly stealing people's right to bear children to maintain their own power and status. Using illusion and deception, the Andekas had made themselves appear to be gods, ruling over a population that worshipped them as such, using the natural human desire to procreate to foster loyalty and devotion.

"How do we stop them?" asked Tobi, apparently having also been considering the evidence we'd discovered.

"I'm not sure," admitted Dr Stone. "The water supply originates from the mountains and the River Vesi takes it through the Kinnisvara before it gets distributed into the community. The Andekas must be injecting this synthetic hormone into the water supply somewhere within the walls of the Kinnisvara after they've taken what they need. I've only been inside that place when we were invited to get pregnant and for a scan afterwards, and that was some thirty years ago, so I have no idea where to start looking. And even if we could find a way to get inside the walls, we wouldn't be able to stay long enough to conduct such an intense investigation without raising suspicion."

"And I've never been inside," I concurred. "So, I can't help in that respect either. But I do know someone who is very familiar with the Kinnisvara, since he's spent most of his life inside the walls," I added pointedly, turning to face Tobi.

"Me? But I'm not a scientist," the platinum blond pointed out. "I may be familiar with the territory, but I have no idea what information I can give you that might be useful. Even if I could somehow get back inside, I wouldn't have the faintest idea where to start looking for anything that could be used to help."

"It's all right," I assured him pensively. "I know that. But I think I might have an idea."